Catacombs of Paris: Entry Ticket + Audio Guide

Take an underground tour of Paris' macabre ossuary, where you'll be surrounded by the remains of no less than six million people. Wandering through these corridors is a truly spine-chilling experience, and with an audio guide, you'll learn more about life (and death) in 18th-century Paris. Discover the dark side of Paris!

At the end of the 18th century, when major public health problems related to the city's cemeteries led to the decision to transfer their contents to an underground site. The Parisian authorities chose an easily accessible site that, at the time, was outside the capital: the former Tombe-Issoire quarries under the Montrouge plain. The first evacuations were carried out from 1785 to 1787 and concerned the largest cemetery in Paris, that of the Holy Innocents.

The site was consecrated as the "Municipal Ossuary of Paris" on April 7, 1786, and from that moment on, it took on the mythical name of "Catacombs," in reference to the Roman catacombs, which had fascinated the public since their discovery. From 1809, the Catacombs were opened to the public by reservation.

Today you can immerse yourself in the heart of history and explore at your own pace the corridors where the skulls are neatly stacked. In addition, thanks to a multilingual audio guide, you can learn more about this secret part of Parisian history.